Origins of Legends
by Arizima
Summary: PG-13 for semi-graphic details. When her abilities are not appreciated in a land full of Wizards, can an adventurer still succeed? Sucky summary, I know. I couldn't think of anything better. ~_~
1. Chapter One

The Origins of Legends

Chapter One

By Arizima

AN: This is a D&D story in my world, following a character I have recently made. Also, the That is all.

In the marketplace of the astoundingly large port town, an odd being strode. It was humanoid, of course, but its face was obscured by the hood of its cloak, and a short, black and gray dog-like snout extended out of it, where a human's mouth would be. The creature was wearing normal clothes; a long-sleeved shirt, a vest, trousers, and semi-soft shoes, but from the area of the trousers where the back of one's pelvis would go, a black, fox-like tail came out of a hole cut in them. The tip of the tail was light gray, and was decorated with an odd bracelet-like ornament, adorned with a large gem. The being rolled its eyes at its surroundings, and tightened its grip on its quarterstaff. The creature's hands, too, were strange; they were really more like a cross between paws and hands, and were covered in black fur. The creature looked to the southwest, where the large Wizards' university was.

" Those no-good Wizards, ruining the lives of our kind," said the creature angrily, in a feminine voice. Around her were the normal hustle and bustle of the marketplace. Suddenly, she felt a slight tug on her tail, and so, moved it so the tip was in her line of vision. Her tail ornament was gone!

" Why that little—" she growled. She cast her eyes around, and saw a halfling run behind a corner of a building, her crystal in hand. Immediately, she took chase. She pushed and shoved her way through the crowd, rather easy since it was filled with humans, elves, and halflings, and she was almost seven feet tall. She finally got out of the marketplace, and looked around for the halfling. The top of her hood moved up an inch or two as her ears perked at the scuffling sound. She ran in the direction of the sound, and swung out her paw and quarterstaff. Her staff hit the halfling thief in the back of the head, knocking him to the ground. He quickly scrambled to his feet, keeping a tight grip on the crystal. He began to run away.

" Oh, no you don't!" Suddenly, there were two pricks of silver fire in the dog-woman's eyes, as she pointed a paw at the halfling. The halfling struggled, but then a smile spread across his face. 

" Hello, there, friend," she called, smiling broadly. " Would you mind coming here for a moment?" The halfling nodded, and walked over to her.

" What did you want? I do have a bit of a busy schedule," the halfling said, just as friendlily.

" Well, that crystal you're holding? It's mine, and I'd like to have it back. If you can just give it back to me, you can be on your way." The halfling happily held out the crystal to her. She quickly snatched it, and cried angrily, " Now be gone, you little thief!" The smile was gone from the halfling's face at once, but once he had looked around, his victim, with the crystal he had stolen, had already gone.

" Aw, darnit," he said under his breath. " Gotta stop stealing from Wizards." He then ran off, looking about for a new "client". Back in the marketplace, the tall dog-woman was chuckling.

" No one steals from Velana Keriska and gets away with it, no sir! Especially not a thief in a town dominated by—" she looked over at the university with an annoyed sniff. "— _Wizards_." Velana carefully placed the tail ornament, complete with crystal, over her tail, securing it more firmly and tying the loose, long fur in her tail in a knot right above it. " Let's see 'em try to steal my crystal from me _now_," Velana then leaned back against a bench, looking at all the passers-by. Time came by peacefully, and she was contemplating over whether or not to get dinner, when a loud scream interrupted the peace, followed by more screams, and the crowd was running as fast as they could from a place near the middle of the street.

" What the—" Velana jumped up to her feet, her hood falling down as she did so. Her head was revealed to be husky-like, and her black ears were tipped in light gray at the top. Grabbing her quarterstaff, she ran over to see what the fuss was all about. She found out soon enough. A gutter to the sewers was wide open, when there should have been only slits. Standing by it were about seven rat-men. They were short, about the size of gnomes. Grey fur was falling out in random places, and they wore no clothes. Their eyes were pure yellow, and they gave off a stench similar to a mix of sewage, skunk fumes, and body odor.

" Ugh. What're they doing here?" Velana said, wrinkling her nose. " Curse my Akaishien sense of smell. Ah, well. No one destroyed a menace to society just standing there!" 

She concentrated, and then that silver fire filled her eyes again. She reached a paw toward the nearest rat-man. Immediately, an odd, red, yellow, and orange material that looked like unstable plasma shot toward the creature. It hit him in his eyes, and he shouted several Goblin curses as he covered his eyes with his webbed paws. 

" Webbed!? Since when do rat-men have webbed paws!?" Velana gasped. She turned back to the crowd watching in fear. 

" Go get the town guard! I can't deal with all of these alone!" They stared at her. " WELL!?" 

" Right!" cried a blonde human. " I'll go get 'em!" He quickly ran off. Meanwhile, the rat-men were jumping at Velana, tearing at her face, tail, paws, and cloak with their rusted short swords. Her cloak was ripped, and the fur near the base of her tail slashed, but she wasn't actually hurt. 

" They've ruined my beautiful tail! Darnit!" She cursed, and pulled out her morningstar. She bashed the rat-man whom she had temporarily blinded. Her morningstar connected with his skull, effectively crushing it, and he dropped. The rat-men jumped at her again, and her sleeve was ripped. The fur on her arm was sliced, and her arm was also bleeding.

" DARNIT!!!!!!" she shouted, but no one, save the rat-men, was there to hear her. She swung her morningstar into the offending rat-man, and it connected with his face. He, too, dropped to the ground. The rat-men were just about to jump at her again, but suddenly, two dropped, with crossbow bolts in their backs. Velana looked up to see the blonde man and the town guard! 

" Whoo-hoo! Reinforcements!" Her joy was interrupted by a rat-man jumping up on her back and slashing at her neck. Luckily, all he did was give her a nice breeze. Thinking fast, Velana reached up with the tip of her tail and started to tickle the rat-man's feet. Laughing, he fell off, and Velana quickly whirled around, bent down, and clubbed him over the head. He stopped laughing and lay still. The last two rat-men fell from the guards' crossbows. Velana sighed and wiped her forehead with the back of her paw as she stuck her morningstar back under her cloak, in her belt.

" Akaishien!" One of the guards called. " We thank you for your bravery in helping to protect the townspeople. How may we repay you?"

" Get me a healing potion and point me toward some lodging!" Velana shouted.

" Alright! We'll do that for you!" The guards ran off, as the blonde man walked up to her.

" Yowch, that cut looks bad. Does it hurt?"

" Of course it hurts! I've been cut in the arm with a rusted short sword!" she snapped.

" Sorry." The man apologized. Velana softened.

" No, it's okay. I'm tired and hungry and want to go to bed. I'm in a bad mood." Velana unceremoniously sat down on the ground, waiting for the town guard to return. After a few minutes, they did so.

" Here you go, ma'am." The guard said, holding a vial filled with a green liquid in his gloved hand. Velana picked it up, tore out the stopper, and drained it. Immediately, the cut on her arm healed, and even the hair on her arm and tail grew back. She handed the empty vial back to the guard. 

" Thanks."

" As for lodging, The Lonely Badger is down that road, near the ocean." The guard pointed. 

" Thanks. I'll be on my way." Velana stood up, using her quarterstaff to help her, and started walking.

" We thank you again for your valor, ma'am. And, according to the people from the marketplace today, you had some powerful magic, that you didn't need any components for it. Your kind are always welcome in the university."

" What do you mean, 'welcome'!?" Velana shouted, whirling around. " It's because of those darned fool Wizards that my kind are ridiculed, beaten, even killed for their abilities! That wasn't magic at all! You think I'd ever use magic? Magic is useful, yes, but nothing but a crutch for the mind when it's used by Wizards! Sorcerors are born with magic in their blood, and Wizards, trying to become something like Sorcerors themselves, spend DECADES learning the darned thing! So, don't invite me to ever participate in your little _university_ again, do you hear!?" Velana growled in contempt, and stalked off down the road, leaving the guards and the man to stare at her retreating back.

AN: Well, that wasn't so bad, was it? Please review. I'd like to hear your opinions on my story.

Disclaimer/Claimer: I do not own D&D, nor any related insignia. I do, however, own Akaishiens, the town, the characters, the plot, and anything else I personally made. Thank you.


	2. Chapter Two

The Origins of Legends

Chapter Two

By Arizima

AN: Here's the second chapter. Sorry about that unfinished sentence in the first AN.

            Velana growled to herself as she opened the door of The Lonely Badger. How dare they, lie to her and say that she was welcome? She already had had enough encounters with wizards as a pup, and she was never welcome then. She looked around at all the people sitting around the tavern, laughing and talking happily. They were the ones who were accepted in this world. Wizards, Fighters, maybe even Sorcerors. No one like her. But, she expected that. Abilities of her kind were only found in children who hadn't had it beaten out of them yet.

            " Honey, are ya gonna just sit there or are ya gonna order somethin'?" A human waitress by her table said.

            " Well, what've you got?"

            " You name it, we got it. Just order something."

            " Fine. I'll have some chicken and some fruit juice, that okay with you?" Velana asked.

            " What kind? We got apple juice, orange juice, grape juice, peach juice…."

            " Orange's fine."

            " Alrighty then, although most people come to a tavern to order ale, y'know. The only reason we got juice is cuz of them elves."

            " Then pretend I'm an elf." Velana said, her temper beginning to get short again.

            " Okay, don't get your tail in a twist!" The waitress scurried off.

            " Don't get my tail in a twist? What's that supposed to mean?" The waitress soon came back, with a roast chicken and a large mug of orange juice on a tray.

            " There ya go. Don't try an' escape without payin' your bill." The waitress said, and wandered off.

            " Do you take me for a thief or something?" Velana muttered, and ate her meal. After she was done, she looked at the small scrap of parchment that was the bill, left a gold coin on the table, and wandered off to find the innkeeper, as it was beginning to get dark.

            " Hey! Innkeeper!" the bartender looked over her. 

            " Yes?"

            " How much is a room around here?"

            " A spot in the common room is five silver coins. A room o' yer own wif free breakfast is a gold coin. A room o' yer own wif a hot bath an' breakfast is two. What do ye want?" Velana reached into her belt pouch and handed him two gold coins. " Right-o, then, ye get room number 3. Enjoy yer stay." Velana thanked the innkeeper and walked up the stairs after he had given her her key. She unlocked the door, and after doing all her nightly duties, jumped up on her bed, walked around on all fours in a small circle, and laid down on her stomach to fall asleep.

            " OI! Miss Ikishinn lady! Time to get up!" called a male voice outside her door. Velana blinked, yawned, and opened the door.

            " What do ya want?"

            " Time to get up, if ye want yer breakfast."

            " Yeah, sure, jus' lemme get dressed." Velana replied, yawning and scratching her nightgown. 

            " Okay, Ikishinn lady."

            " One, it's Akaishien. Two, my name's not Akaishien lady." Velana closed the door, got dressed, and went downstairs.

            " Oh, yummy. Eggs, bacon, and a lardy-looking thing. The breakfast of Paladins." Velana murmured to herself, poking at a pile of white goo with her fork. After she was done, she thanked the innkeeper again and left the building, blinking in the bright sun. She looked around at the glittering rooftops of the city, and decided to just wander around before she went back. So, she picked her way among the streets and alleys, stopping to eat some of her trail rations at noon. Suddenly, while she was eating, a tiny, kitten-sized gargoyle that seemed to be made of blue crystal and energy grabbed up her apple and flew as fast as it could in the opposite direction.

            " An Astral Construct!" Velana gasped. She jumped to her feet, and followed the gargoyle. It led her to a back alley, where she arrived just in time to find the gargoyle hand the apple to a small boy with sandy brown hair, and then it vanished.

            " You there!" she called. The boy gasped, and turned around, dropping the apple. His eyes were violet, and a pair of pointy, translucent fangs stuck out of his mouth. He was rather dirty, and seemed to be about five or so. His height was about the height of a Tallfellow halfling.

            " I'm sorry!" he cried. " I needed food!"

            " It's not that, little Svellai," Velana said sympathetically. " That Astral Construct, where did it come from?"

            " What's an Astral Construct?" The boy asked fearfully. 

            " That gargoyle. Where did it come from?"

            " I-I made it," he studdered.

            " How did you make it?"

            " I don't know…. I just concentrate and energy starts shooting out of my eyes and it makes the gargoyle, and it obeys me." The boy looked up at her. " You're not going to turn me into the Wizards, are you? I hate the Wizards."

            " So do I, don't worry. How old are you, little boy?" Velana asked, sitting down next to him.

            " I turn twenty-six this summer."

            " So you _are_ a Svellai."

            " Yeah, why?"

            " Nothing, nothing. What's your name?"

            " Takeru."

            " Well, Takeru, can I help explain to you where you got your power to create gargoyles from?" Takeru nodded. " Okay, let's not do it here. There's a tavern a little ways away from here, and I'll buy you lunch." Takeru suddenly picked up the apple, wiped it on his dirty, torn shirt, and held it out to Velana. 

            " Oh yeah, what's your name?"

            " Velana. You can keep my apple, I can always buy more food. Now, can you come with me?" Velana said, smiling at Takeru and standing up. Takeru nodded.  " Alright, if you need to, hold on to my tail so you don't get lost," she said as she began walking out of the alley. Takeru stared at the ornament on her tail.

            " What's that pretty crystal?"

            " I'll explain it all to you in due time, don't worry. Now, come on!" Takeru nodded, and softly took the tip of her tail in his little hands, as they walked to The Lonely Badger. 

            Velana opened the door to the tavern, Takeru still grasping her tail. The two sat down at a table in the corner, so as not to attract attention. A Tallfellow waitress walked over to them.

            " Oh, what a cute little Svellai!" she said, cooing over Takeru.

            " Lady…. You're scaring me…." Takeru gulped, edging away from her.

            " Don't scare the Svellai. I'll have come chicken and water. What do you want, Takeru?"

            " I've never been in a tavern before, I don't know what they got. How about fish?"

            " Yes, we have fish. What do you want to drink with that?"

            " Um, how about milk?"

            " Chicken and water, fish and milk? Okay, hold on, I'll get your order." Takeru turned back to Velana.

            " So, what _is_ that pretty crystal on your tail?" Velana removed the tail ornament from her tail, and handed it to Takeru to look at it.

            " It's a Psicrystal. It stores a fragment of my personality." Takeru nodded, looking at the crystal from every angle. 

            " Which one?"

            " Well, me personally, I have my sympathetic side stored in there." Takeru nodded again, and gave the crystal back. " Now, would you like to know _why_ I have a Psicrystal?" 

            " Yup."

            " Well, I'm what you call a Psion. I do stuff that's like magic, but not. I use mind power. Tell me, where are your parents? Velana asked. 

            " Well, when I started making "Astral Constructs" the size of little frogs, my parents thought I was a Sorceror, and took me to the university to be tested. But the wizards cast some spell on me, and said they didn't find the ability to cast sorcerous magic. So, my parents thought I was a mutant, a freak of nature, got my powers from something evil, and kicked me out when I was fifteen. They probably think I'm dead." Takeru sniffled. " Where are yours?"

            " I had a similar experience when I was a child. I talked to animals and things, and my parents thought I was crazy. They told me not to do it, but I couldn't help it. When I got to school, it got worse. I could somehow read the answers on my teacher's face when she asked a question, and always answered correctly. The other pups called me the teacher's pet, they said it was impossible for me to know all the answers, and said I was cheating. I simply told them the truth, I read the answers from the teacher, and they ridiculed me even worse. They said I was insane, that I couldn't be a telepath, there was no such thing. But I was and still am. It led to them making fun of me, picking on me, even physically hurting me. I felt unwanted and hated, so I ran away."

            " What happened?" Takeru gasped.

            " Here's your food," interrupted a familiar voice. The waitress had come back and slid them their food on trays. Takeru took a swig of his milk and asked again.

            " So, what happened?"

            " Well, I was lonely for the first few days, but it was better than being with my peers. Then, I was ambushed by goblins. They knocked me unconscious, and nearly killed me, but I was spared. When I woke up, I was in a small community of Psions and Psychic Warriors who had saved me."

            " What's a Psychic Warrior?" Takeru asked.

            " Someone who mixes psionics and weaponry. Now, I told them why I had run away from my home town, and they understood me, offered me shelter. They helped me develop my abilities, and train to survive in the wild. After I felt I had trained enough, I left, to help other young Psions get the shelter and understanding they deserve, that I myself had never gotten until I found that community."

            " Are there different kinds of Psions? I don't have any telepathic abilities or anything."

            " Yes, there are six kinds. Your kind is called the Shaper. They specialize in Metacreativity."

            " D'you think that group of psychic people would help me, too?" Takeru asked eagerly. Velana laughed.

            " That's exactly what I was going to suggest. Are you up to the journey, the training?" Takeru nodded. 

            " YEAH!" 

            " Alright then, we'll leave as soon as possible, tomorrow morning. This afternoon, we've got to get you some new clothes and a bath." Velana looked Takeru up and down, gazing at his ripped shirt, torn trousers, and lack of shoes, as well as the thin layer of dirt and grime that covered his body. " I still don't understand why you didn't go to the priests of Lothrielle. They would have helped you get clean, and get along."

            " Because I felt like no one understood me. Even the priests of Ianola would probably think my power came from something evil." Velana nodded.

            " I understand the feeling. You'd better eat your fish." Takeru obediently tore into his food happily as Velana smiled to herself. She had saved another one.

            AN: So, Velana's background is revealed, as well as some other stuff.


End file.
